This 'Ridgeline gets better fuel economy' is another huge misnomer. It doesn't. Period. Look it up and you'll see a Silverado with a V8 putting out 40 more hp and a whole lot more torque gets the same EPA-rated fuel economy as a V6 Ridgeline.
The whole point is this: Ridgline is not a real pickup truck; its a Pilot with a bed in the back. Pickups buyers would never consider a Ridgeline because its useless - it can't tow much and its FWD-biased so even what it can tow, it can't do it with the stability of a regular truck, it can't haul much, and its pretty expensive for what you get. Likewise, Ridgeline buyers would never consider a real truck because they're too bulky, too uncomfortable for them, and (in their minds) suck more gas.
Comparing it head-to-head with a fullsize truck is a misnomer; car buying sites do it because there's no where else to categorize it and popular car magazines do it because they're idiots and don't really know shit about anything and already wrote about the Nissan Titan buying everybody.
It fills a niche for Honda to stop people from buying other midsize trucks, like the Colorado, Frontier, etc. In reality, though, it doesn't strike me as being that competitive. It looks funny, the interior is laughable even for a truck, and its sole 'innovation' is an in-bed trunk design that hinders access to the spare tire when it or the bed are loaded with things.